Signal Conditioning Operations

In previous lectures we have studied various sensors and transducers used in a mechatronics system. Transducers sense physical phenomenon such as rise in temperature and convert the measurand into an electrical signal viz. voltage or current. However these signals may not be in their appropriate forms to employ them to control a mechatronics system. Figure 2.6.1 shows various signal conditioning operations which are being carried out in controlling a mechatronics based system.The signals given by a transducer may be nonlinear in nature or may contain noise. Thus before sending these signals to the mechatronics control unit it is essential to remove the noise, nonlinearity associated with the raw output from a sensor or a transducer. It is also needed to modify the amplitude (low/high) and form (analogue/digital) of the output signals into respective acceptable limits and form which will be suitable to the control system. These activities are carried out by using signal conditioning devices and the process is termed as ‘signal conditioning'.

Figure 2.6.1 Signal conditioning operations